Device for closing in slotted piston-rings.



VV/T/VESSiS R. P. ELLIOTT.

DEVICE FOR CLOSING IN SLOTTED PISTON'RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1. 1915.

1,258,664. 1 Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

UL: U5 2 RICHARD P. ELLIOTT, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR CLOSING IN SLOTTED PISTON-RINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

Application filed February 1, 1915. Serial No. 5,417.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD P. ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston. county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Closing InSlotted Piston-Rings, of which the follow ing is a specification,reference being had to the drawings accompanying the same and forming apart thereof.

My invention relates to a device for closing in piston rings such as areused for packing in the grooves of pistons of steam and gasoleneengines; 17. 6., when piston rings are turned approximately to size anda slot cut so as to remove a portion of the ring, it is desirable tothereafter close in the ring and grind or finish it on the outside tothe diameter of the bore of the cylinder in which it is to be used.

The object of my invention is to provide a flexible means, such as apiece of fine wire, preferably piano wire, with a fixture engaging thehooked ends of the wire in such manner that the ends of the wire can bedrawn together to compress a piston ring inelosed within the coil of thewire to close its slot together, the wire being flexible so as not toplace undue strain on any part of the diameter of the piston ring todistort it. In other words, the object is to use a flexible closing-indevice for closing in rings in such manner that a ring will assume suchshape as the slight variations in the thickness of the wall orvariations in the hardness of the metal at different points wouldnormally cause it to assume, the wire bemg so flexible that it does notconstrain the ring at any one point.

Tigare It represents a plan view of my closing-in device as it appearswhen the e is drawn together to close a ring in and ends of the slot incontact with the device lose the s lot in the ie p0 ion of t closingthedevice is operated to ro- W plan view of i" the closingin do Fig, 3, soas .has been clamped in tinring with the slot closed together, and 2 apiston ring with the slot open. The closingindevice consists of aflexible wire 3, which preferably has hooks bent up on its ends, as at 4and 5, and so positioned as to hook around pins 6, 6. The pins 6, 6,extend through and are secured in both sides of the slot 7 in the legs 8and 9 of the closingin device so that the hooks will be free to rotateon the pivots 6, 6. The legs 8 and 9 of the closing-in device are joinedtogether by the pivot 10 so as to freely revolve thereon. One of thelegs, as 9, has a strap 11 riveted to it by the rivets 12, 12, so thatthe loop portion extends around and beyond the leg 8 to receive a. wedge13, the wedge 18 being tapered from the end 14 toward the end 15, and apin 16 provided so that the wedge will not fall out.

The purpose of having the flexible wire 3 attached to the legs 8 and 9by the hooks l and 5 surrounding'the pins 6, 6 is so that the closing-infixture may be used with different lengths of wire for the purpose of"closing in rings of different diameters. One set of closing-in fixturesmay be used with any number of wires 3 for an indefinite number of sizesof piston rings.

The wedge 13 is made sufiiclently tapering so as to allow a sufficientspread between the free ends of the legs 8 and 9 so that the fixture maybe used to close in slots of different widths from the narrowest to thewidest slot.

The operation of my improved closing-in fixture is as follows :-Thefixture being pro vided with a wire 3 sufliciently large incircumference or diameter to pass around the ring 2 when the slot isopen, then the legs 8 and 9 are drawn together by pushing inwardly thewedge 13 so as to draw the slot of the ring together, the wedge 18 is sopositioned in the strap 11 its edge 1? will contact with the inside heloop 1'8 of the strap 11, and thus hold slot of the ring closed in untilthe ring n be perm nently held closed in 1 being ripped between theplates of a grinding H 1, the plates of the grinding fixture holdinering on its sides rather than on its diameter. After the ring rindingfixture the hiking the extendwire released. from oved.

wedge is driven out b ing portion 19 and the circumference of the ringand It will b en that these fixtures are na rower in practice,practically the narrowest piston ring made is wide. These fixtures can'the closing-in devices interfering with each other, and the ringsclamped sidewise between the shoulders ofthe grinding or finishingfixtures, and after being clamped to hold them closed the fixture may beremoved independent of each other.

A threaded screw or similar device may be used for drawing the legs 8and 9 together without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a device for contracting piston rings, incombination, a contracting fixture com prising two members united at oneend to form a hinge joint, the opposite ends of said members beingturned outwardly, slotted and provided with a pin near the outer end ofeach slot; means for locking said conessee itracting fixture in anydesired operative po sition; and a flexible wire band having a hookformed on each of its ends, said hooks being adapted to be quicirlyengaged or disengaged t'rom the pins in said contracting fixtures.

2. lin a device for contracting piston rings, in combination, acontracting fixture comprising two members united at one end to form ahinge joint, the opposite ends of said members being turned outwardly,slotted and provided with a pin near the outer end of each slot, asubstantially U-shaped member secured to one of said members andinclosing the other, a wedge-shaped member adapted to cooperate withsaid U-shaped member to lock said contracting fixture in any desiredoperative position, and a flexible wire band having a hook formed oneach of its ends, said hooks being adapted to quickly engage or bedisengaged from the pins in the said contracting fixture.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses, this the 30th day of January RICHARD P.ELLIOTT.

Witnesses:

D, Benita,

M. Katee,

